egroj world: Sandy Bull • Re-Inventions Best Of The Vanguard Years

Friday, January 5, 2024

Sandy Bull • Re-Inventions Best Of The Vanguard Years

Review
by Michael Gallucci
Sandy Bull's technical skills have always been correlated with his vision. As a guitarist, he could often slip into repetitive drags of both time and space, but as a musical theorist, those crawls into other dimensions were often fascinating excursions that were years ahead of their time. Re-Inventions: Best of the Vanguard Years gathers eight songs from three of the four albums Bull recorded for Vanguard for a decade beginning in 1963. It's Bull's most productive and exciting period, and this splendidly assembled compilation serves it well. His mastery of the acoustic and electric guitar, bass, banjo, and oud is prominently on display here. And on his most sublime track, the 21-minute "Blend," Bull constructs a psychedelic folk song that meanders through several glorious fields before slamming into an open crevice for a rejoicing journey home. It's a straight take, with no overdubs or edits, and it's Bull -- with drummer Billy Higgins -- at his most poetic and timeless.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/re-inventions-best-of-the-vanguard-years-mw0000048895

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Reseña
por Michael Gallucci
Las habilidades técnicas de Sandy Bull siempre han sido correlativas a su visión. Como guitarrista, a menudo podía caer en repetidos arrastres de tiempo y espacio, pero como teórico musical, esos arrastres a otras dimensiones eran a menudo excursiones fascinantes que se adelantaron a su tiempo. Re-Inventions: Best of the Vanguard Years reúne ocho canciones de tres de los cuatro álbumes que Bull grabó para Vanguard durante una década a partir de 1963. Es el periodo más productivo y excitante de Bull, y esta compilación espléndidamente ensamblada le sirve. Su dominio de la guitarra acústica y eléctrica, el bajo, el banjo y el oud es una muestra destacada. Y en su tema más sublime, "Blend", de 21 minutos de duración, Bull construye una canción folclórica psicodélica que serpentea a través de varios campos gloriosos antes de entrar de golpe en una grieta abierta para un regocijante viaje a casa. Es una toma directa, sin sobregrabaciones ni ediciones, y es Bull -con el baterista Billy Higgins- en su momento más poético y atemporal.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/re-inventions-best-of-the-vanguard-years-mw0000048895

Tracks:
1 - Blend
Drums – Billy Higgins
Written-By, Guitar – Sandy Bull 21:55
2 - Manha De Carnival
Guitar, Oud, Bass – Sandy Bull
Written-By – Luiz Bonfa 13:00
3 - Carmina Burana Fantasy
Arranged By, Banjo – Sandy Bull
Written-By – Carl Orff 4:32
4 - Gospel Tune
Written-By, Guitar, Hihat – Sandy Bull 9:58
5 - Little Maggie
Adapted By, Arranged By, Banjo – Sandy Bull
Written-By – Traditional 4:07
6 - Memphis, Tennessee
Drums – Billy Higgins
Guitar, Bass – Sandy Bull
Written-By – Chuck Berry 9:46
7 - Triple Ballade
Arranged By, Banjo, Oud, Guitar – Sandy Bull
Written-By – Guillaume de Machaut 3:13
8 - Carnival Jump
Drums [Hand Drums] – Dennis Charles
Written-By, Oud, Percussion [Spare Change] – Sandy Bull 9:01

Notes:
Tracks 1, 3 to 5 are from the album "Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo" (1963).
Tracks 2, 6, 7 are from the album "Inventions" (1965).
Track 8 is from the album "Demolition Derby" (1972).

Label:    Vanguard – 79520-2
Genre:    Rock, Blues, Classical, Folk, World, & Country
Style:    Electric Blues, Acoustic, Folk, Experimental
https://www.discogs.com/release/1139251-Sandy-Bull-Re-Inventions-Best-Of-The-Vanguard-Years